PM Orbán: Nearly 10 billion EUR has been given to families since 2010

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that more than 3 trillion HUF (9.7 billion EUR) has been provided in support to Hungarian families since the Fidesz-KDNP government came to power in 2010.

The prime minister said the savings include those from tax preferences for families and newly married couples as well as the lower tax rate and the introduction of a flat-rate tax system.

According to MTI, PM Orbán said his government had taken some pages from the “Reagan catechism” and “put a brake on inflation, continuously cut taxes and put the communists in mothballs”.

He pointed out that Hungary was at rock bottom in 2010, but “as Hungarian logic dictates when at rock bottom, look at the foundations," he said. He added that the government did just that and found that the foundations were good. “Hungarians like to work, they can work hard and take initiative…and they are able to take responsible decisions,” he added.

PM Orbán acknowledged the cooperation and contribution of businesses in the implementation of the government’s policy after 2010.

“Although they gnashed their teeth, the banks still stood by the government and paid the bank levy. The multinationals and the Hungarian companies stood by the country and paid their sectoral taxes, and the SMEs also accepted what they had to,” he said.

The prime minister said that we have come so far as to have been able to form an alliance with businesses last year that includes tax reductions.

“With this, we’ve started a new period of Hungary’s economic history, because we’ve brought to an end the era of low wages. Although, there is still much left to do,” he added.

He said that today we can say that establishing the Hungarian model was a good decision. “Instead of a welfare-based economy, we established a work-based economy, and we made sure that Hungary’s success, not just profit, was in the interest of foreign investors,” he added.